An Israeli strike on a health centre in southern Lebanon instantly killed 12 medical workers, seriously wounded one and left four missing under the rubble for hours.
The March 13 strike in the village of Burj Qalaouiyah, one of the single deadliest strikes in Lebanon since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, targeted a centre run by Hezbollah’s health arm, the Islamic Health Society, which has so far lost 24 members over the past two weeks.
Since the latest war began, Israel’s military has not only been targeting the group’s military assets but also its civilian institutions in an apparent attempt to weaken the Iran-backed group further and try to push its supporters away from it.
Hezbollah is a political party as well as an armed group, and its health and social service institutions have helped strengthen its base of support over the years.
In addition to health centers, Israel has destroyed more than a dozen branches of Hezbollah’s financial arm, al-Qard al-Hasan. Other strikes heavily damaged Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV headquarters and its Al-Nour radio stations.
The strikes also have targeted the group’s Amana gas stations and discount shops known as Sajjad, where low-income people can buy highly subsidised products.
On Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut killed Mohammed Sherri, the head of political programs at Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, along with his wife.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of using health facilities for military purposes and has said al-Qard al-Hasan — officially a charitable organisation that provides interest-free loans — finances the group’s military activities. Lebanon’s Health Ministry denies the Israeli claims about Hezbollah’s health facilities being used for military purposes.
“This is a different war that will not end with a ceasefire,” said Hilal Khashan, a political scientist at American University of Beirut. “This war will not end before Israel achieves its full objective – that is, the elimination of Hezbollah not only as a military movement, but also the ultimate objective is to erase Hezbollah from the Lebanese political picture.”
Hezbollah is under internal and external pressure to disarm and knows this latest fight is crucial. Intense clashes along Lebanon’s southern border between Hezbollah fighters and advancing Israeli troops have left dozens of Lebanese gunmen dead.
During a visit to the northern front Monday, Israel’s army chief Gen. Eyal Zamir said that Hezbollah is now fighting “a war for its very existence and is paying a heavy price for entering this battle.” He added that pressures exerted by Israel’s military will only “increase more and more.”
